CL 234. Here, together with the causes of colds in marriages, the causes of separations and also of divorces are likewise treated of. The reason is because they cohere, the one with the other, for separations come solely from cold gradually engendered after the marriage, or from causes giving rise to cold, which come to view after the marriage; while divorces are from adulteries inasmuch as these are directly opposed to marriages, and opposites induce cold, if not in both partners, yet in one. This is the reason why the causes of colds, separations, and divorces are brought together in a single chapter. The close connection of these causes will become more clearly evident from seeing them in a series. This series is as follows:

1. That there is spiritual heat and spiritual cold; and that spiritual heat is love and spiritual cold the deprivation thereof.

2. That in marriages, spiritual cold is disunion of souls and disjunction of minds, whence comes indifference, discord, contempt, loathing, aversion; from which, with many, comes finally separation from bed, chamber, and house.

3. That the causes of cold in their successions are many, some internal, some external, and some accidental.

4. That the internal causes of cold are from religion.

5. That of these causes, the First is rejection of religion by both partners.

6. The Second, that the one has religion and the other has not.

7. The Third, that the one has one religion and the other another.

8. The Fourth, is imbued falsity of religion.

9. That these are causes of internal cold, but with many, not at the same time of external cold.

10. That the external causes of cold are also many, and of these the First is dissimilitude in animus and manners.

11. The Second, the believing that conjugial love is one with scortatory love except that by law, the latter is illicit and the former is not.

12. The Third, rivalry for supremacy between the partners.

13. The Fourth, lack of determination to any study or business, whence comes wandering lust.

14. The Fifth, inequality of station and condition in externals.

15. That there are also several causes of separation.

16. That of these the First is a blemish of the mind.

17. That the Second is a blemish of the body.

18. The Third is impotence before marriage.

19. That Adultery is the cause of divorce.

20. That there are also many accidental causes; and of these the First is commonness from being continually allowed.

21. The Second, that because of the covenant and the law, living with the married partner seems forced and not free.

22. The Third, affirmation by the wife and talk by her about love.

23. The Fourth, the man's thought of the wife day and night, that she is desirous; and on the other hand, the wife's thought of the man, that he is not willing.

24. That when cold is in the mind, it is also in the body; and according to the increase of the former cold, the externals of the body are closed.

The explication of the above now follows.

CL 235. I. That there is spiritual heat and spiritual cold; and that spiritual heat is love and spiritual cold the deprivation thereof. Spiritual heat is from no other source than the sun of the spiritual world; for there is a sun there, proceeding from the Lord who is in the midst of it; and being from the Lord, that sun in its essence is pure love. Before the angels, it appears as fiery, just as the sun of our world appears before men--that it appears fiery is because love is spiritual fire. From it proceed both heat and light; but because that sun is pure love, the heat therefrom in its essence is love, and the light therefrom in its essence is wisdom. From this it is evident whence comes spiritual heat, and that this heat is love.

[2] The source of spiritual cold shall also be explained in a few words. It is from the sun of the natural world and from the heat and light thereof. The sun of the natural world was created, that its heat and light may receive into themselves spiritual heat and light, and by the mediation of atmospheres, may convey them to things ultimate on earth, in order to make actual the effects of the ends which are the Lord's in His sun; and also to clothe spiritual things with adequate garments, that is, with matters, that ultimate ends may become operative in nature. This is effected when spiritual heat is joined from within to natural heat. But the opposite comes to pass when natural heat is separated from spiritual heat, which is the case with those who love natural things and reject spiritual. With them, spiritual heat becomes cold. That these two (heats or) loves, which from creation are concordant, then become opposed, is because the master heat then becomes the servant, and the reverse. That this may not happen, spiritual heat, which by its lineage is the master, withdraws. In these subjects, spiritual heat then grows cold because it becomes the opposite. What spiritual cold is, namely, that it is the deprivation of spiritual heat, is thus evident.

[3] In what has been said above, by (spiritual) heat is meant love, because in living subjects that heat is felt as love. I have heard in the spiritual world that spirits who are merely natural grow intensely cold when they place themselves at the side of an angel who is in a state of love, and that it is the same with the spirits of hell when heat flows into them out of heaven; and yet, that among themselves, when the heat of heaven is shut off from them, they burn with great heat.

CL 236. II. That in marriages, spiritual cold is disunion of souls and disjunction of minds, whence comes indifference, discord, contempt, loathing, aversion; from which, with many, comes finally separation from bed, chamber, and house. That such is the case with married partners if their first love declines and becomes cold, is too well known to need comment. The reason is because conjugial cold resides in human minds above all other colds; for the conjugial is inscribed upon the soul to the end that soul may be propagated from soul, and the soul of a father into his offspring. Hence it is that this cold begins there and passes down successively into the parts that follow, and infects them, and so turns the gladsome and delightful things of the first love into things sad and undelightful.

CL 237. III. That the causes of cold in their successions are many, some internal, some external, and some accidental. That there are many causes of cold in marriages is known in the world; and also that cold arises from many external causes. But that the origins of these causes lie concealed in man's inmost parts, and that from these they betake themselves into the parts that follow, until at last they appear in externals, is not known. In order, therefore, that it may be known that the external causes are not causes in themselves but are derived from causes which are causes in themselves and which, as was said, are in man's inmosts, the causes are first divided generally into internal and external, and are then examined in detail.

CL 238. IV. That the internal causes of cold are from religion. That the true origin of conjugial love resides with man in his inmosts, that is, in his soul, is a matter of conviction with everyone, from the mere fact that the soul of the offspring is from the father--a fact which is recognized from the similarity of inclinations and affections, and also from the general similarity of features derived from the father, this remaining in his posterity even when remote. It is further evident from the propagative faculty implanted in souls from creation, and also, by analogy, in the subjects of the vegetable kingdom, in that, inmostly latent in their germinations lies the propagation of seed and hence of the whole plant, whether tree, bush, or shrub.

[2] This propagative or plastic force in seeds of the vegetable kingdom and in the souls of the other kingdom, is from no other source than the conjugial sphere--being the sphere of good and truth treated of above (n. 222-225)--perpetually emanating and flowing in from the Lord the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, and the striving therein of these two, namely, good and truth, to conjoin themselves into a one. It is this conjugial striving inseated in souls, from which as its origin, conjugial love exists. That this same marriage, whence comes that universal sphere, makes the Church with man, has been shown abundantly and to spare in the chapter on the Marriage of Good and Truth, and many times elsewhere. With this evidence set before the reason, it is clear that the origin of the Church and the origin of conjugial love are in one and the same seat, and that they are in continual embrace. But more on this subject may be seen above (n. 130) where it is demonstrated that conjugial love is according to the state of the Church with man, and so is from religion, it being religion that makes this state.

[3] Moreover, man was so created that he can become ever more interior, and thus can be introduced or elevated into that marriage, and so into love truly conjugial, ever more intimately until he perceives the state of its blessedness. That the sole means of this introduction or elevation is religion, is clearly evident from what was said above, namely, that the origin of the Church and the origin of conjugial love are in the same seat, and that, being there in mutual embrace, they must needs be conjoined.

CL 239. From what has now been said, it follows that where there is no religion there is no conjugial love, and that where this is lacking, there cold is present. That conjugial cold is the deprivation of that love may be seen above (n. 235); consequently, conjugial cold is also the deprivation of the state of the church or religion. A very evident confirmation of this may be drawn from the common ignorance at the present day concerning love truly conjugial. Who at this day knows that the origin of conjugial love is deduced from this source? who at this day is willing to acknowledge this? and who at this day will not wonder at it? This is due to no other cause than the fact that though there is religion, there are no truths of religion; and what is religion without truths? That there are no truths has been fully shown in THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED; see also in the Memorabilia there (AR n. 566).

CL 240. V. That of the internal causes of cold, the first is rejection of religion by both partners. With those who cast the holy things of the Church, from the face to the occiput or from the breast to the back, there is no good love. If any comes to view from the body, there is still none in the spirit. With such men, goods place themselves outside evils and veil them over like a garment resplendent with gold covering a corrupt body. The evils which reside within and are veiled over are, in general, hatreds and thence intestine combats against everything spiritual--all the things of the Church which they reject being in themselves spiritual. And because love truly conjugial is the fundamental of all spiritual loves, as shown above (n. 65) it is evident that their intrinsic hatred is against this love, and that with them the intrinsic or proprial love is for the opposite which is the love of adultery. Wherefore they, more than others, will deride the truth that with everyone, conjugial love is according to the state of the Church with him. Indeed, they will perhaps laugh aloud at the very mention of love truly conjugial. Be that as it may, they are yet to be excused because, for them, it is just as impossible to think differently of embraces in marriage than of embraces in whoredom, as it is for a camel to push through the eye of a needle. Those who are such, are cold in respect to conjugial love with more extreme cold than others. If they cleave to their partners, it is only for external reasons such as are recounted above (n. 153), which restrain and bind them. With them, the interiors which pertain to the soul and thence to the mind are more and more closed, and in the body they are stopped up; and then, in the interiors of their body and thence in the lowest things of their thoughts, love of the sex also grows vile or becomes insanely lascivious. These also are they who are meant in the Memorable Relation (n. 79), which they may read if they please.

CL 241. VI. That of the internal causes of cold, the second is that the one has religion and the other has not. The reason is because their souls cannot but be discordant, the soul of the one being open for the reception of conjugial love, and that of the other closed to the reception of that love. It is closed with the one who has no religion and open with the one who has religion. Hence no cohabitation is possible in the soul, and when conjugial love is banished therefrom, cold ensues--but this only with the partner who has no religion. This cold is not dissipated except by the reception of a religion congruous with that of the other, if the latter is true religion. Otherwise, with the partner who has no religion, there comes a cold which descends from the soul into the body even to the cuticles. As the final effect of this cold, that partner cannot bear to look the other directly in the face, or to address that other with any feeling of breathing the same air, that is, save with a restrained tone of voice, or to touch that other with the hand, and scarcely with the back, to say nothing of the insanities which from that cold creep into the thoughts and which they do not divulge. This is the reason why such marriages are dissolved of themselves. Moreover, it is well known that an impious man holds his partner in low esteem; and all who are without religion are impious.

CL 242. VII. That of the internal causes of cold, the third is that the one has one religion and the other another. The reason is because with such partners, good cannot be conjoined with its corresponding truth; for, as shown above, the wife is the good of the husband's truth, and he is the truth of the wife's good. Hence, from the two souls there cannot be made one soul; consequently, the fountain from which that love springs is closed, and with this closed they come into a conjugial which has a lower seat, being the conjugial of good with another truth than its own, or of truth with another good, and between these there is no concordant love. Thence with the partner who is in falsities of religion begins cold, and this is intensified as the one departs farther away from the other. Once when going through the streets of a great city, seeking a place of abode, I entered a house where dwelt married partners who were of diverse religions. While I was still unaware of this, angels addressed me and said, "We cannot stay with you in this house because the partners there are in discordant religions." They perceived this from the internal disunion of their souls.

CL 243. VIII. That of the internal causes (of cold), the fourth is (imbued) falsity of religion. The reason is because falsity in spiritual things either takes away religion or defiles it. It takes it away with those with whom genuine truths are falsified. It defiles it with those with whom there are indeed falsities but no genuine truths and consequently none which could be falsified. With such men there may be goods with which by application those falsities can be conjoined by the Lord; for their falsities are like various discordant tones which, by skilful combinations and insinuations, are drawn into a harmony with its resultant gratefulness. With these, some conjugial love is possible; but with those who have falsified the genuine truths of the Church, it is not possible. From the latter comes the prevailing ignorance as to love truly conjugial, or the negative doubt as to whether it is possible. From them also is the insanity inseated in the minds of many, that adulteries are not evils of religion.

CL 244. IX. That the causes above named are causes of internal cold, but with many, not at the same time of external cold. If the causes thus far defined and confirmed, being causes of cold in internals, were to produce a like cold in externals, the result would be as many separations as there are internal colds, and the latter are as many as the marriages, treated of above, between those who are in falsities of religion, those who are in diverse religions, and those who are in no religion. Yet it is well known that many live together as though love and mutual friendship were theirs. The source of this love and friendship with those who are in internal cold shall be told in the following chapter on the causes of apparent love, friendship, and favour between married partners.

[2] There are many causes which conjoin animi but yet do not conjoin souls, among which are some of the causes recounted above (n. 183). Yet cold lies hidden within, and at times this results in its being observed and sensed. With such persons, their affections are mutually divergent, but, for the sake of apparent friendship and favour, their thoughts, when these go forth into speech and conduct, are mutually accordant. Therefore they know nothing of the pleasantness and delight of love truly conjugial, still less of its happiness and bliss, these being to them little more than fables. Such persons are among those who make the origins of conjugial love to be from the same causes as did the nine companies of the wise brought together from different kingdoms, concerning whom see the Memorable Relation, (n. 103-114).

CL 245. Against what has been confirmed above, the objection may be made that a soul is propagated from the father even though it is not conjoined with the soul of the mother, yea, even though the cold there residing separates them. The reason why souls or offspring are propagated despite this, is because the man's understanding is not so closed but that it can be elevated into the light in which the soul is, though the love of his will is not elevated into the heat corresponding to the light there, except by a life which from natural makes him spiritual. Hence it is, that the soul is still procreated; but in its descent, while becoming seed, it is covered over by such things as are of the man's natural love. From this springs hereditary evil. To the above I will add an arcanum which comes from heaven: Between the disunited souls of two, especially partners, a conjunction is effected in a mediate love; otherwise there would be no conceptions among men. In addition to what has been said concerning conjugial cold and concerning its seat as being in the supreme region of the mind, see the last Memorable Relation of this chapter (n. 270).

CL 246. X. That the external causes of cold are also many, and of these the First is dissimilitude in ANIMUS and manners. Similitudes and dissimilitudes are internal and external. The internal take their origin from no other source than religion; for this is implanted in souls, and through souls is derived from parents to offspring as a supreme inclination. The soul of every man derives its life from the marriage of good and truth, and from this marriage is the Church; and because the latter is various and diverse in different parts of the globe, the souls of all men are likewise various and diverse. From this source, therefore, come the internal similitudes and dissimilitudes and the consequent conjugial conjunctions here treated of.

[2] External similitudes and dissimilitudes are not predicated of the soul but of the animus. By the animus is meant external affections and the inclinations therefrom. After birth, these are insinuated chiefly by education, associations with others, and the resultant habits; for when one says, "I have a mind (animus) to do this or that," his affection is perceived and his inclination to that thing. Moreover, the animus is usually formed by accepted persuasions concerning this or that kind of life. Hence come inclinations to enter into marriage even with unequals, and also to refuse entering into marriage with equals. Yet, after the partners have lived together for a time, these marriages vary according to the similitudes and dissimilitudes contracted from heredity and at the same time by education, the dissimilitudes inducing cold.

[3] So likewise dissimilitudes in manners, as, for example, in the marriage of an uncultured man or woman with a refined man or woman; of a cleanly man or woman with an uncleanly; of a quarrelsome man or woman with a peaceable; in a word, of an ill-bred man or woman with a well-bred. Marriages of such dissimilitudes are not unlike conjunctions of different kinds of animals which do not consociate because of their dissimilitudes; as of sheep and goats, of stags and mules, of hens and geese, of sparrows and noble birds, yea, of dogs and cats. In the human race, faces do not indicate these dissimilitudes but habits. Therefore, from this source come colds.

CL 247. XI. That of the external causes of cold, the Second is the believing that conjugial love is one with scortatory love except that by law, the latter is illicit and the former is not. That from this comes cold is clearly seen by reason when it considers that scortatory love is diametrically opposed to conjugial love. Therefore, when conjugial love is believed to be one with scortatory love, then, in idea the two loves become alike, and the wife is looked upon as a harlot and marriage as uncleanness. Then also the man is an adulterer, if not in body yet in spirit. That from this source flow contempt, loathing and aversion between the man and his woman, and thus intense cold, follows as an inevitable conclusion; for nothing stores up conjugial cold within itself more than scortatory love. Moreover, because this love passes off into cold, it may not undeservedly be called conjugial cold itself.

CL 248. XII. That of the external causes of cold, the Third is rivalry for supremacy between the partners. The reason is because, among its principal objects, conjugial love looks to union of wills and thus to liberty of agreement. Rivalry for supremacy or rule, ejects these two objects from the marriage; for it divides and sunders the wills into sides, and turns the liberty of agreement into servitude. So long as this rivalry continues, the spirit of the one meditates violence against the other. Were their minds then opened and observed by spiritual sight, they would appear as antagonists fighting with daggers, and it would be seen that they regarded each other with alternate hatred and favour--with hatred when in the ardour of rivalry, and with favour when in the hope of dominion and when in lust.

[2] After the victory of the one over the other, the antagonism withdraws from the externals of the mind and betakes itself to the internals, and there with its disquiet it remains concealed. Hence comes cold both to the subjugated or servant and to the victor or master. Cold comes to the latter also because there is no longer conjugial love, and the deprivation of this love is cold (n. 235). Instead of conjugial love comes heat from supremacy; but this heat, though utterly discordant with conjugial heat, yet, by the mediation of lust, may be outwardly concordant. After tacit agreement between them, it appears as if conjugial love had become friendship; but the difference between conjugial friendship in marriages and servile friendship is as the difference between light and shade, between living fire and fatuous fire, yea, as between a man in full flesh and a man consisting only of skin and bone.

CL 249. XIII. Of the external causes of cold, the Fourth is lack of determination to any study or business, whence comes wandering lust. Man was created for use because use is the containant of good and truth, and from the marriage of these is creation and also conjugial love, as shown in the chapter on the Origin of Conjugial Love. By study and business is meant every application to uses; for while a man is in some study and business, that is, in some use, his mind is limited and circumscribed as by a circle, within which it is successively co-ordinated into a form truly human. From this as from a house he sees the various concupiscences as outside himself, and from sanity of reason within, banishes them and consequently banishes also the beastly insanities of scortatory lust. With such men, therefore, conjugial heat remains in greater fullness and for a longer period than with others.

[2] The contrary is the case with those who give themselves up to sloth and idleness. Their mind is unrestrained and unbounded, and the man then admits into the whole of his mind all manner of vain and frivolous things which flow in from the world and the body and carry him along into the love of them. That conjugial love also is then cast into exile is evident; for from sloth and idleness, the mind is rendered stupid and the body torpid, and the whole man becomes insensible to every vital love, especially to conjugial love, it being from this love as from a fountain that the activities and alacrities of life emanate. The conjugial cold with such men is, however, different from that cold with others. It is indeed the privation of conjugial love, but from defect.

CL 250. XIV. That of the external causes of cold, the Fifth is inequality of station and condition in externals. There are many inequalities of station and condition which, during the time of living together, break up the conjugial love initiated before the nuptials. All, however, can be referred to inequalities in respect to age, to rank, and to wealth. That unequal ages induce cold in marriages, as in the marriage of a boy with an old woman, or of an adolescent maid with a decrepit old man, needs no confirmation. That in marriages it is the same in the case of inequality of rank, as in the marriage of a prince with a maid-servant, or of an illustrious matron with a man-servant, is also acknowledged without confirmation. That it is equally the case with respect to wealth is clear, unless, indeed, a similitude in animus and manners and the application of the one partner to the inclinations and native desires of the other consociates them. In these cases, however, compliance by the one on account of the superior station and condition of the other conjoins them only in a servile way, and such conjunction is a cold conjunction; for with them it is a marriage, not of the spirit and heart, but only of the mouth and the name--a marriage of which the inferior boasts and at which the superior blushes with shame. In the heavens there is no inequality of age or of rank or wealth. As to age, all there are in the bloom of youth and remain therein to eternity. As to rank, all there regard others according to the uses which they perform. The more eminent look upon those in lower stations as brethren; nor do they put rank above the excellence of the use but the latter above the former. Moreover, when virgins are given in marriage, they do not know of what lineage they are, for no one there knows his father on earth, the Lord being the Father of all. So likewise as to wealth. There, wealth is the endowment of being wise; according to this, riches are given them in sufficiency. As to how marriages are entered into there, this may be seen above (n. 229).

CL 251. XV. That there are also several causes of separation. There is separation from the bed and separation from the house. The causes of separation from the bed are many, and so likewise of separation from the house; here, however, it is legitimate causes that are treated of. Because causes of separation coincide with causes of concubinage, which are treated of in their own chapter in the next Part of this work, the reader is referred to that chapter, that he may see the causes in their order. The legitimate causes of separation are those which follow.

CL 252. XVI. That the First cause of legitimate separation is a blemish of the mind, is because conjugial love is a conjunction of minds. Therefore, if the mind of the one departs from that of the other into what is diverse, the conjunction is dissolved and therewith love vanishes. As to what the blemishes are which make separation, this can be seen from a recital of them. For the most part, they are the following: Mania, frenzy, insanity, actual foolishness and idiocy, loss of memory, severe hysteria, extreme simplicity so that there is no perception of good and truth, the height of obstinacy in not conforming to what is just and equitable, the utmost pleasure in gabbling and in talking of nothing but insignificant and trivial matters, unbridled desire to divulge the secrets of the home, also to quarrel, strike blows, take revenge, do evil, steal, lie, deceive, blaspheme; neglect of the children, intemperance, luxury, excessive prodigality, drunkenness, uncleanness, lack of shame, addiction to magic and witchcraft, impiety, and many others. By legitimate causes are here meant, not judicial causes, but causes legitimate to the other partner; moreover, separation from the house is seldom decreed by a judge.

CL 253. XVII. That the Second cause of legitimate separation is a blemish of the body. By blemishes of the body are not meant accidental diseases which befall one or the other married partner during the time of marriage and which pass away. What are meant are incurable diseases which do not pass away. Pathology teaches what these are. They are multifarious, such as diseases by which the whole body is infected to a degree which may lead to fatal results by contagion. Such diseases are:

1. Malignant and pestilential fevers, leprosy, venereal diseases, gangrenes, cancer, and other like maladies.

2. Also diseases by which the whole body becomes so weighed down that no consociation is possible, and from which hurtful effluvia and noxious vapours are exhaled, either from the surface of the body or from its inner parts, especially the stomach and lungs. From the surface of the body; Malignant pox, warts, pustules, consuming scurvy, virulent itch, especially if by these diseases the face is made loathsome.

[2] From the stomach: Eructations, foul, rank, fetid and crude. From the lungs: Fetid and putrid exhalations, exhaled from tumours, ulcers, abscesses, or from vitiated blood or vitiated lymph therein.

3. In addition to these, there are also other diseases of various names, such as lipothymy, which is a total languidness of the body and lack of vital forces; paralysis, which is a loosening and relaxation of the membranes and ligaments that serve for motion; certain chronic diseases arising from loss of tensibility and elasticity of the nerves or from an excessive density, tenacity, and acidity of the humours; epilepsy; permanent infirmity arising from apoplexy; certain wasting diseases by which the body is consumed; the iliac passion; the celiac affection; hernia and other like diseases.

CL 254. XVIII. That the Third cause of legitimate separation is impotence before marriage. The reason why this is a cause of separation is because the end of marriage is the procreation of offspring, and with the impotent this is impossible; and since they know this beforehand, they purposely deprive their wives of the hope of it, a hope which nevertheless suckles and strengthens the conjugial love of women.

CL 255. XIX. That Adultery is the cause of divorce. For this there are many reasons which, though visible in rational light, are yet concealed at this day. It can be seen from rational light that marriages are holy and adulteries profane; and thus, that marriages and adulteries are diametrically opposed to each other, and that when opposite acts upon opposite, the one destroys the other to the last spark of its life. It is the same with conjugial love when a married man commits adultery from some principle which he has confirmed and thus from set purpose. These reasons come into clearer rational light with those who know something of heaven and hell; for they know that marriages are in heaven and from heaven; that adulteries are in hell and from hell; that the two cannot be conjoined, just as heaven cannot be conjoined with hell; and that if they are conjoined in a man, heaven instantly departs and hell enters in.

[2] It is because of this, then, that adultery is the cause of divorce. Therefore the Lord says:--

He says that he commits adultery if he put away his wife, except for whoredom, and take another, because putting away for this reason is a complete separation of minds. This is called divorce; but all other cases of putting away for specific reasons are the separations which have here been treated of. If after such separation another wife is taken, adultery is committed; but not after divorce.

CL 256. XX. That there are also many accidental causes of cold; and of these the First is commonness from being continually allowed. That commonness from being continually allowed is an accidental cause of cold is because this is the case with those who think of marriage and of the wife lasciviously, but not with those who think of marriage in a holy way and of the wife with confidence. That from commonness arising from a thing being continually allowed, joys become indifferent and also wearisome, is manifest from games and theatrical representations, from concerts, dances, banquets, and other like enjoyments, which in themselves are sweet pleasures because enlivening. The same is the case with the cohabitations and consociations between married partners, especially between those who have not removed the unchaste love of the sex from their love for each other, and, in the absence of ability, think vain things concerning its being common because continually allowed. That with such men this commonness is a cause of cold, is self-evident. It is called an accidental cause because it is a cause in addition to the intrinsic cold, and supports it as a reason. Moreover, it is for the removing of the cold arising from this cause that wives, from the prudence implanted in them, make that which is allowed not allowed, and this by oppositions. It is wholly different, however, in the case of those who judge chastely of their wives. Therefore, with angels, commonness from being continually allowed is the very delight of their soul and the containant of their conjugial love; for they are in the delight of that love continually, and are in its ultimates according to the presence of the minds of husbands uninterrupted by cares, thus at the good pleasure of their judgment.

CL 257. XXI. That of the accidental causes of cold, the Second is, that because of the covenant and the law, living with the married partner seems forced and not free. This is a cause only with those with whom conjugial love is cold in their inmosts; and being an addition to the internal cold, it becomes an accessory or accidental cause. With such men, extra-conjugial love is intrinsically in heat by reason of the consent and favour which accompany it, the cold of the one love being the heat of the other. If this heat is not felt, it is still present within the cold, yea, in its midst. Moreover, unless it were then within, there would be no recuperation. This heat is what causes the feeling of compulsion, a feeling which is increased according as the covenant by virtue of a contract, and the law by virtue of justice, are regarded by the one partner as bonds not to be violated. It is different if those bonds are loosened by both partners.

[2] The opposite is the case with those who denounce extra-conjugial love as accursed, and think of conjugial love as heavenly and as heaven; and still more with those who perceive this. With them, the covenant with its contractual clauses, and the law with its decrees are inscribed on their hearts and are being continually more and more inscribed thereon. With them, the bond of that love is not secured by a contracted covenant or by legal enactment. These two are implanted from creation in the love in which they are, and it is from them that the former are in the world, and not the reverse. Hence it is that everything pertaining to that love is felt as free. No other freedom is possible save the freedom of love; and I have heard from angels that the freedom of love truly conjugial is the height of freedom because that love is the love of loves.

CL 258. XXII. That of the accidental causes of cold, the Third is affirmation by the wife and talk by her about love. With angels in heaven, there is no refusal and resistance on the part of wives as there is with some wives on earth. Moreover, with angels in heaven, there is talk about love by wives and not such silence as obtains with some wives on earth. To present the causes of these diversities does not become me and so is not permissible; but in four Memorable Relations following the chapters, they may be seen as told by angelic wives who freely disclose them to their husbands--by the three wives in the hall over which was seen a golden shower (n. 155, 208), and by the seven sitting in a rose garden (n. 293-294). These Relations are adduced to the end that everything pertaining to conjugial love may be disclosed, this love being the subject here treated of both in general and in detail.

CL 259. XXIII. That of the accidental causes of cold, the Fourth is the man's thought of the wife day and night, that she is desirous; and on the other hand, the wife's thought of the man, that he is not willing. That this is a cause of cessation of love with wives, and that it is a cause of cold with men, is passed by without comment; for it is among the things well known to husbands who study the arcana of conjugial love, that if a man at the sight of his wife by day, or by her side at night, thinks of her that she desires or wishes, he is chilled to the extreme; and on the other hand, that if a wife thinks of the man that he is able and not willing, she loses her love. The above is adduced here to the end that this work may be perfected and (its first Part), The Delights of Wisdom from Conjugial Love, be comprehensive.

CL 260. XXIV. That when cold is in the mind, it is also in the body; and that according to the increase of the former cold, the externals of the body are closed. It is thought at this day that man's mind is in his head and nothing of it in his body, when yet both soul and mind are in both head and body; for the soul and mind are the man, being what make his spirit which lives after death; and that this is in a perfect human form has been abundantly shown in our treatises. Hence it is that as soon as a man thinks anything, he can instantly utter it by the mouth of his body, and can simultaneously represent it by gesture; and as soon as he wills anything, he can instantly do it and bring it into effect by the members of his body. This would not be the case if the soul and mind were not together in the body and did not make his spiritual man. This being so, it can be seen that, when conjugial love is in the mind, it has the same likeness in the body; and because love is heat, that from the interiors it opens the externals of the body; and conversely, that from the interiors the privation of love, which is cold, closes the externals of the body. From the above, the cause of the fact that ability endures with the angels to eternity is clearly manifest; as also the cause of its defect with men in a state of cold.

CL 261. To the above, I will add three Memorable Relations.

First:

In the spiritual world, in the upper northern quarter near the east, are places of instruction for boys, for youths, and for men and also for old men. Into these places are sent all who die in infancy and are being brought up in heaven; likewise all who have newly come from the world and desire knowledge respecting heaven and hell. This region is near the east in order that all may be instructed by influx from the Lord; for in the spiritual world, the Lord is the East, being in the sun which is pure love from Him. Hence, in its essence, the heat from that sun is love and the light is wisdom. These are inspired into them by the Lord from that sun, the inspiration being according to their reception, and their reception according to their love of becoming wise. After a period of instruction, those who have become intelligent are sent out and are called Disciples of the Lord. They are sent first to the west, those who do not remain there being sent on to the south and some through the south to the east; and are introduced into the societies where will be their dwellings.

[2] Once, after meditating on heaven and hell, I began to desire a universal knowledge of the state of each, knowing that he who has a knowledge of universals can afterwards comprehend singulars, the latter being in the former as the parts in a whole. While in this desire, I looked towards that region in the northern quarter near the east where were the places of instruction, and by a way then opened to me, I walked thither and entered one of the colleges where were young men. Going to the head teachers who gave instruction there, I asked them if they knew the universals respecting heaven and hell.

[3] They replied that they had some little knowledge of them, "but if we look towards the east, to the Lord, we shall be enlightened and shall know." After doing so, they said: "There are (three universals of heaven and) three universals of hell, but the universals of hell are diametrically opposed to the universals of heaven. The universals of hell are the following three loves: The love of ruling from the love of self, the love of possessing the goods of others from the love of the world, and scortatory love. The universals of heaven are the three opposite loves: The love of ruling from the love of use, the love of possessing the goods of the world from the love of performing uses by their means, and love truly conjugial."

When they had said this, I wished them peace, and leaving them returned home. On reaching home, it was said to me from heaven, "Examine those three universals, both those above and those below, and afterwards we shall see them in your hand." It was said in your hand because all that a man examines with his understanding appears to the angels as written on his hands.

CL 262. After this, I examined first the universal love of hell, being the love of ruling from the love of self, and then the universal love of heaven corresponding thereto, being the love of ruling from the love of use; for it was not allowed me to consider the one love without the other, because, being opposite loves, the understanding cannot perceive the one without the other. That both may be perceived they must be placed in contrast, one over against the other; for a beautiful and finely formed face shines forth by contrast with a face which is ugly and deformed. While reflecting on the love of ruling from the love of self, it was given me to perceive that this love is utterly infernal, and hence is with those who are in the deepest hell; and that the love of ruling from the love of uses is supremely heavenly and hence is with those who are in the highest heaven.

[2] That the love of ruling from the love of self is utterly infernal is because to rule from the love of self is to rule from the proprium, and man's proprium is evil from very birth, and evil is diametrically opposed to the Lord. Therefore, the further men progress into this evil, the more do they deny God and the holy things of the Church, and adore themselves and nature. Let those, I pray, who are in that love search it out within themselves and they will see. Moreover, the love is such that, so far as its reins are loosened, as they are when impossibility does not stand in the way, it rushes on, step by step, to its very height; nor does it stop there; but, if there is no higher step, it grieves and laments.

[3] With politicians, the love mounts so far that they wish to be kings and emperors, and if possible, to have dominion over all things of the world and be called kings of kings and emperors of emperors. With the clergy, the same love mounts so far that they wish to be gods and as far as possible to have dominion over all the things of heaven and be called gods of gods. In what follows, it will be seen that neither the latter nor the former acknowledge any God. Those, on the other hand, who wish to rule from the love of uses, wish to rule not from themselves but from the Lord; for the love of uses is from the Lord and is the Lord Himself. These regard dignities no otherwise than as means for the performance of uses, placing uses far above dignities; but the others place dignities far above uses.

CL 263. While meditating on this, it was said to me by the Lord through an angel, "You shall now see the nature of that infernal love, and seeing, you will be confirmed." Then suddenly, the earth on the left opened and I saw a devil coming up out of hell. On his head he had a square cap pressed down over his forehead as far as his eyes. His face was full of pustules as of a burning fever, his eyes fierce, and his chest swollen into a rhomb. Out of his mouth he belched smoke like a furnace. His loins were all aflame. Instead of feet were bony ankles without flesh; and from his body exhaled a stinking and unclean heat.

[2] Terrified at sight of him, I called out, "Do not come near. Tell me whence you are." He answered hoarsely: "I am from the lower regions and am there with two hundred in a society which is pre-eminent above all societies. There we are all emperors of emperors, kings of kings, dukes of dukes, and princes of princes. No one there is a mere emperor or a mere king, duke or prince. There we sit upon thrones of thrones and send out our mandates into all the world and beyond."

I then said to him, "Do you not see that from the fantasy of pre-eminence you are insane?" and he replied, "How can you speak in that way? To ourselves we seem such as I have said. Moreover, by our companions we are recognized as such."Hearing this, I did not wish to repeat "You are insane," because from his fantasy he really was insane. It was then granted me to learn that, while living in the world, that devil had been merely a house steward, and that he was then so greatly elated in spirit that he despised the whole human race in comparison with himself, and indulged the fantasy that he was more worthy than a king and even than an emperor. From this pride he had denied God and counted all the holy things of the Church as nothing for himself and as something only for the stupid multitude.

[3] At last I asked him, "As to your two hundred there, how long do you thus boast among yourselves?" He said, "For ever; but those of us who torment others for denying their pre-eminence sink down, it being allowed us to boast but not to bring evil on anyone.

I then asked him, "Do you know what is the lot of those who sink down?" He said, "They sink into a prison where they are called viler than the vile or the very vilest, and there they labour." To that devil I then said, "Have a care then lest you also sink down."

CL 264. After this, the earth again opened but on the right; and I saw another devil rising up. On his head was, as it were, a mitre twined about with coils as of a serpent, with its head rising up from the top. His face from forehead to chin was leprous, as were also his two hands. His loins were naked and black as soot, and through the blackness was the dusky glow of fire as of a hearth. The ankles of his feet were like two vipers.

Seeing him, the former devil fell upon his knees and adored him. "Why do you do that?" I asked. He answered, "He is the God of heaven and earth and is omnipotent."

I then asked the other, "What do you say to that?" He replied, "What can I say? I have all power over heaven and hell. The lot of all souls is in my hand."

I asked further, "How can one who is the emperor of emperors thus submit himself, and you receive his adoration?" He answered "He is nevertheless my servant. What is an emperor before God? In my right hand is the thunderbolt of excommunication."

[2] I then said: "How can you be so insane? In the world you were only a canon; and because you laboured under the fantasy that you also had the keys and hence the power of binding and loosing, you raised your spirit to such a degree of insanity that now you believe you are God himself."

Indignant at this, he swore that he was, and added, "The Lord has no power in heaven because He has transferred it all to us. We need only to command, and heaven and hell reverently obey. If we send anyone to hell, the devils immediately receive him; so likewise do the angels him whom we send to heaven."

When asked, "How many are you in your society?" he said, "Three hundred; and there we are all gods, but I am the god of gods."

[3] After this, the earth opened under their feet and each sank down into his hell. It was then granted me to see that under their hells were workhouses into which those sink down who do harm to others; for it is left to everyone in hell to remain in his own fantasy and also to boast therein, but he is not allowed to do evil to another. The reason why they are such is because man is then in his spirit, and when separated from the body, the spirit comes into the full liberty of acting according to its affections and the thoughts therefrom.

[4] After this it was granted me to look into their hells. The hell where they were emperors of emperors and kings of kings was full of all manner of uncleanness and they seemed like different kinds of wild beasts with fierce eyes. So likewise in the other hell where were the gods and the god of gods. Here, flying about them, were seen dreadful birds of night which are called ochim and ijim. Thus did the images of their fantasy appear to me. From these experiences, the nature of the political love of self, and that of the ecclesiastical love of self became evident, namely, that the nature of the latter is to wish to be gods, and that of the former, to wish to be emperors; and men have this wish and aspiration so far as the reins to these loves are loosed.

CL 265. After this, a hell was opened where I saw two men, one sitting on a bench holding his feet in a basket full of serpents which were seen to be creeping up over his breast to his neck, and the other sitting on a fiery ass at whose sides, accompanying the rider, were crawling red serpents with uplifted necks and heads. I was told that these were popes who had deprived emperors of their dominion, and at Rome had dealt wickedly in word and deed with emperors who had gone thither to make supplication and to adore them; also that the basket wherein were seen serpents, and the fiery ass with serpents at its sides, were representations of their love of ruling from the love of self; but that such representations are seen only by those who look thither from a distance. Some canons were present, and I asked them whether these were the same popes. They said that they recognized them and knew them to be the same.

CL 266. After witnessing these sad and frightful scenes, I looked around and saw two angels standing not far from me and talking together. One was clothed in a woollen toga, bright with flamy purple, and under it a tunic of shining linen; and the other in similar raiment of scarlet, with a mitre, the right side of which was studded with a number of rubies. Approaching them, I gave the salutation of peace and respectfully asked, "Why are you here below?" They replied, "We have been sent here from heaven by command of the Lord, to speak with you about the blessed lot of those who desire to rule from the love of uses. We are worshippers of the Lord. I am the prince of a society, and this other is the high priest there."

[2] The prince then said that he was the servant of his society because he served it by performing uses; and the other, that he was the minister of the Church there because it was in the service of his brethren that he administered holy things for the uses of their souls; and that both of them were in perpetual joys from the eternal happiness which was in them from the Lord. "In that society everything is resplendent and magnificent, being resplendent from the gold and precious stones there, and magnificent from the palaces and paradises. The reason is because our love of ruling is not from the love of self but from the love of uses; and since the love of uses is from the Lord, all good uses in the heavens are resplendent and refulgent. In our society we are all in this love and, therefore, from the light there which is derived from the flamy red of the sun, the atmosphere appears golden, for the flamy red of the sun corresponds to that love."

[3] When they had thus spoken, a like sphere was seen by me also. It surrounded them, and from it I sensed something aromatic. I told them of this and asked if they would not add something more to what they had said about the love of use. They then continued, saying: "We did indeed seek after the dignities in which we are, but we did this for no other purpose than that we might be able to perform uses more fully, and extend them more widely. We are also surrounded with honour, and this we receive, not on our own account but for the good of the society. Our brothers and fellow-men who are of the common people know scarcely other than that the honours pertaining to our dignities are in us, and thus that the uses we perform are from ourselves; but we feel otherwise. We feel that the honours of the dignities are outside us, being like garments with which we are clothed; while the uses which we perform are from the love of those uses within us from the Lord. This love receives its blessedness from being communicated with others by means of uses. We know from experience that so far as we perform uses from the love of them, the love increases, and with the love, the wisdom whereby the communication is effected; but so far as we retain the uses within ourselves and do not communicate them, the blessedness perishes and the uses then become as food stored up in the stomach which is not distributed for the nourishment of the body and its parts, but remains an undigested mass from which comes nausea. In a word, the whole of heaven, from the first things thereof to the last, is nothing but a containant of uses; and what are uses but actual love of the neighbour? and what but this love holds the heavens together?"

[4] Hearing this, I asked: "How can one know whether he performs uses from the love of self or from the love of uses? Every man, both good and evil, performs uses, and he performs them from some love. Suppose that in the world there were a society composed only of devils, and a society composed only of angels, I opine that from the fire of the love of self and the splendour of their own glory, the devils in their society would perform as many uses as the angels in theirs. Who then can know from what love and from what origin the uses are?"

[5] To this the two angels responded: "Devils perform uses for the sake of themselves and their reputation, that they may be advanced to honours or may acquire wealth. It is not for these that angels perform uses but for the sake of the uses themselves and from love of them. Man cannot discern between these uses; but they are discerned by the Lord. Every one who believes in the Lord and shuns evils as sins performs uses from the Lord; but everyone who does not believe in the Lord, and does not shun evils as sins, performs uses from himself and for the sake of himself. This is the distinction between uses performed by devils and uses performed by angels."

Saying this, the two angels departed, and at a distance they appeared to be carried like Elijah in a chariot of fire and taken up into their heaven.

CL 267. The second Memorable Relation:

Some time later I entered a grove, and while walking there in meditation upon those who are in the concupiscence and hence in the fantasy of possessing the things of the world, I saw at some distance from me two angels conversing together and every now and then looking at me. Therefore I went nearer to them, and as I was approaching, they spoke to me and said, "We perceive within us that you are meditating on the subject of which we are speaking, or that we are speaking of the subject on which you are meditating; this comes from a reciprocal communication of affections."

[2] I therefore asked them what was the subject of their conversation. They said that it was fantasy, concupiscence, and intelligence, and that just now they were speaking of those who take delight in the vision and imagination of possessing all things in the world. I then asked them to express their minds on those three subjects, concupiscence, fantasy, and intelligence. Commencing their discourse, they said: "From birth everyone is inwardly in concupiscence, and from education outwardly in intelligence, but no one is in intelligence inwardly, thus as to his spirit, still less in wisdom, except from the Lord; for everyone is withheld from the concupiscence of evil and held in intelligence according as he looks to the Lord and at the same time is conjoined with Him. Without this, man is nothing but concupiscence. Yet, from education he is in intelligence in external matters, that is, as to the body; for man lusts after honours and riches, or eminence and wealth, and he cannot attain these two unless he has the appearance of being moral and spiritual, thus intelligent and wise. Therefore he learns to put on this appearance from very infancy. This is the reason why, as soon as he comes among men or into company, he inverts his spirit, removes it from concupiscence, and speaks and acts from becoming and honourable principles which he has learned from infancy and retains in the memory of his body, taking the greatest care that nothing of the insanity of concupiscence in which his spirit is shall come out.

[3] Hence every man who is not inwardly led by the Lord is a dissembler, a sycophant, and a hypocrite, thus an apparent man and yet not a man. Of such a man it can be said that his shell or body is wise and his kernel or spirit insane, and that his external is human and his internal ferine. Such men look upwards with the back of their head and downwards with the front, and thus walk as if beset with heaviness, with head hanging down and face turned to the earth. When they put off the body and become spirits and so are set free, they become the insanities of their concupiscence; for those who are in the love of self, desire to have dominion over the universe, yea, to extend its limits, that they may enlarge their dominion; they never see the end. Those who are in the love of the world desire to possess all things thereof and are grieved and envious if any treasures lie hidden with others. Therefore, in the natural world, lest such men become mere concupiscences and thus not men, it is granted them to think from fear of the loss of reputation and thus of honour and gain, and also from fear of the law and its punishments. It is also granted them to apply their mind to some study or occupation whereby they are kept in externals and thus in a state of intelligence, however delirious and insane they are inwardly."

[4] I then asked whether all who are in concupiscence are also in the fantasy thereof. They replied: "Those are in the fantasy of their concupiscence who think inwardly within themselves and over-indulge their imagination by talking with themselves; for they almost separate their spirit from its connection with the body, and from vision, overwhelm the understanding and fatuously divert themselves as though from universal ownership. Into this delirium is that man let after death who has abstracted his spirit from the body and has not wished to withdraw from the delight of his delirium by some thought from religion concerning evils and falsities, and still less by thought concerning the unbridled love of self as destructive of love to the Lord, and the unbridled love of the world as destructive of love towards the neighbour.

CL 268. After this, the two angels and also I myself were seized with the desire to see those who from love of the world are in the visionary concupiscence or fantasy of possessing the wealth of all men; and we perceived that this desire was inspired in us to the end that they might be made known. Their places of abode were under the earth beneath our feet, but above hell. We therefore looked at each other and said, "Let us go."

There was then seen an opening, and in it a ladder. After descending this ladder, we were told that they must be approached from the east lest we enter into the mist of their fantasy and be obscured as to our understanding and then at the same time as to our sight.

[2] And lo, there was seen a house, constructed of reeds, being thus full of chinks. It stood surrounded by a mist which poured continually through the chinks of three of the walls like smoke. Entering, we saw men, fifty here and fifty there, sitting upon benches. They had their backs to the east and south, and were directing their gaze to the west and north. In front of each man was a table, and on the table bulging purses, and around the purses an abundance of gold coins. To our question, "Are these the riches of all the men in the world?" they said, "Not of all in the world but of all in the kingdom."

Their speech had a hissing sound, and they themselves were seen to have round faces which had a reddish glow like a snail-shell. Moreover, from the light of fantasy, the pupils of their eyes were as though glittering in a background of green.

Standing in their midst, we asked, "Do you believe that you possess all the riches of the kingdom?" to which they replied, "We do possess them."

We then asked them, "Which of you?" and they answered,"Each one of us." "How each one?" we asked, "you are many." They said, "Each one of us knows that all his are mine. No one is allowed to think, still less to say, `Mine are not yours" but it is allowed us to think and say, `Yours are mine'."

The coins on the tables seemed as though they were coins of pure gold, and this even to us. But when we let in light from the east, they were granules of gold which these men, by their common united fantasy, had magnified into coins. They said that it behoves everyone who comes in, to bring some gold with him. This they cut up into little pieces, and these into granules; then, by the united power of their fantasy they enlarge these into coins of the larger sort.

[3] We then said, "Were you not born men of reason? Whence do you have this visionary foolishness?" to which they answered, "We know that it is an imaginary vanity, but because it delights the interiors of our minds, we come in here and are delighted as from the possession of all things. But we remain here only a few hours. When these have passed we go out, and each time we leave, a sound mind returns to us. Yet, every now and then our visionary delight comes over us and makes us again come in, and (we come in and) go out by turns. Thus we are alternately wise and insane. We know also that a hard lot awaits those who by craft deprive others of their goods."

We asked, "What lot?" and they said: "They are swallowed up and thrust naked into some infernal prison where they are made to work for clothing and food, and afterwards for a few small coins. These they hoard up and in them they set the joy of their heart; but if they do evil to their companions, they must give up a part of their small coins as a fine."

CL 269. After this, we ascended from these lower regions into the south where we had been before. There the angels told us many things worthy of mention concerning the non-visionary or non-fantastical concupiscence, in which every man is from birth. "So long as men are in it, they are fools and yet seem to themselves to be supremely wise. From this foolishness they are restored by turns into the rational which with them is in their externals. In this state they see, acknowledge, and confess their insanity. Yet, from this rational state they long to return to their insane state. Moreover, they let themselves into it as though into something free and delightful from what is forced and undelightful. Thus it is concupiscence that inwardly delights them.

[2] "There are three universal loves, of which, from creation, every man is made up: Love of the neighbour which is also the love of performing uses, love of the world which is also the love of possessing wealth, and love of self which is also the love of ruling over others. Love of the neighbour or the love of performing uses is a spiritual love; love of the world or the love of possessing wealth is a material love; and love of self or the love of ruling over others is a corporeal love.

[3] Man is a man when love of the neighbour or the love of performing uses makes the head, love of the world the body, and love of self the feet. But if love of the world makes the head, the man is not a man save as a humpback is a man; and when love of self makes the head, he is not a man standing on his feet but a man resting on his hands, with his head downwards and his buttocks upwards. When love of the neighbour makes the head, and the other two loves in their order make the body and the feet, then, from heaven, the man is seen to be of an angelic countenance, with a beautiful rainbow around his head; but if love of the world makes the head, he is seen from heaven to be of a pallid countenance, like that of a corpse, with a yellow circle around his head; while, if love of self makes the head, he is seen from heaven to be of a dusky countenance, with a white circle around his head."

At this I asked, "What do the circles around their heads represent?" They answered: "They represent intelligence. A white circle around a head with a dusky countenance represents that the man's intelligence is in his externals, that is, is around him, while in his internals, that is, within him, is insanity. Moreover, a man who is such is wise when in the body but insane when in the spirit. No man is wise in the spirit except from the Lord; and he becomes wise when he is generated by Him and created again or anew."

[4] After these words, the earth at the left opened and, rising up through the opening, I saw a devil with a bright white circle around his head. I asked him, "Who are you?" He said, "I am Lucifer, Son of the Dawn; and because I made myself like the Most High, I was cast down." Yet he was not that Lucifer, though he thought he was.

I then said, "Since you were cast down, how can you again rise up out of hell?" He replied: "There I am a devil but here I am an angel of light. Do you not see my head encircled with a sphere of light? and if you wish, you will also see that I am super-moral among the moral, super-rational among the rational, nay, and super-spiritual among the spiritual. Moreover, I can preach, and I have preached." When I asked him, "What have you preached?" he said: "Against defrauders, against adulterers, and against all infernal loves. Yea, I, Lucifer, then called myself the devil and hurled curses against myself--him--and for this I was extolled to the sky with praises. It is because of this that I am called the Son of the Dawn. And, what I myself have wondered at, when I was in the pulpit I thought no other than that I was speaking uprightly and piously. But I have discovered to myself that the reason was because I was in externals, and these were then separated from my internals. Yet, despite this discovery, I could not change because, on account of my arrogance, I had not looked to God."

[5] I then asked him, "How can you speak so when you yourself are a defrauder, an adulterer, and a devil?" He replied: "I am one person when in externals or in the body and another when in internals or in the spirit. In the body I am an angel, but in the spirit a devil: for in the body I am in the understanding, but in the spirit I am in the will, and the understanding carries me upwards but the will carries me downwards. When I am in the understanding, a white band encircles my head, but when my understanding wholly surrenders itself to my will and becomes its understanding, which is our final lot, then the band grows black and disappears; and when this happens, we are no longer able to ascend into this light."

He then spoke of his twofold state, the external and the internal, more rationally than anyone; but on seeing the angels with me, he was suddenly inflamed in face and voice and became black, even as to the band around his head. He then sank down into hell through the opening through which he had risen.

From what they had thus seen, the bystanders formed the following conclusion: A man is such as his love is, and not his understanding, because the love easily carries the understanding to its side and enslaves it.

[6] I then asked the angels, "Whence do devils have such rationality?" and they said, "It is from the vainglory of the love of self; for the love of self is girt about with vainglory, and the vainglory elevates the understanding into the light of heaven. The understanding can be elevated with every man according to his knowledge, but not the will except by a life according to the truths of the Church and of reason. Hence it is that men, even atheists, who are in the vainglory of reputation from the love of self and thence are in the pride of self-intelligence, enjoy a more sublime rationality than many others--but only when they are in the thought of their understanding, not when in the affection of their will. The affection of the will possesses man's internal, but the thought of the understanding, his external."

Furthermore, the angel told me the reason why man is made up of the three loves mentioned above--the love of use, the love of the world, and the love of self--namely, that he may think from God, though as if from himself. He said: "The supreme things in man are turned upwards to God, the intermediate outwards to the world, and the lowest downwards to self, and because these are turned downwards, man thinks as if from himself, when yet he thinks from God."

CL 270. The third Memorable Relation:

One morning after sleep, my thought was deeply engaged on certain arcana of conjugial love, and finally, on the following: In what region of the human mind does love truly conjugial reside, and hence in what, conjugial cold? I knew that there are three regions of the human mind, one above the other, and that natural love dwells in the lowest region, spiritual love in the higher, and celestial love in the highest; also that in each region there is a marriage of good and truth; and because good pertains to love and truth to wisdom, that in each region there is a marriage of love and wisdom, and that this marriage is the same as the marriage of the will and understanding, the will being the receptacle of love and the understanding the receptacle of wisdom.

[2] While in deep thought concerning this, lo, I saw two swans flying towards the north, and presently two birds of paradise flying towards the south, and also two turtle-doves flying in the east. As I followed their flight with my sight, I saw that the two swans bent their northerly course to the east, as likewise did the two birds of paradise on their southerly course; and that, joining the two turtle-doves in the east, they flew with them to a lofty palace there, around which were olive trees, palms and beeches. The palace had three tiers of windows, one above the other; and, directing my attention to them, I saw the swans fly into the palace through open windows in the lowest tier, the birds of paradise through open windows in the middle tier, and the turtle-doves through open windows in the highest tier.

[3] As I was looking at this, an angel stood by my side and said, "Do you understand these sights?" I replied, "Partly." He then said: "That palace represents the abodes of conjugial love as they are in human minds. Its highest part into which the doves betook themselves represents the highest region of the mind where conjugial love with its wisdom dwells in the love of good; its middle into which the birds of paradise betook themselves represents the middle region where conjugial love with its intelligence dwells in the love of truth; and its lowest part into which the swans betook themselves represents the lowest region of the mind where conjugial love with its knowledge dwells in the love of what is just and right.

[4] Moreover, the three pairs of birds signify these same things--the pair of turtle-doves, the conjugial love of the highest region, the pair of birds of paradise the conjugial love of the middle region, and the pair of swans the conjugial love of the lowest region. The like are signified by the three kinds of trees around the palace--the olive, the palm, and the beech. In heaven, we call the highest region of the mind celestial, the middle spiritual, and the lowest natural; and we perceive them as abiding places in a house, one above the other, and the ascent from one to the other by degrees, as being made by stairs. In each story are two rooms, as it were, one for love the other for wisdom. In front is a bedchamber, as it were, where love with its wisdom, or good with its truth, or, what is the same thing, the will with its understanding, consociate in bed. In that palace stand forth as in effigy all the arcana of conjugial love."

[5] On hearing this, being kindled with a desire to see the palace, I asked whether, being a representative palace, it was granted anyone to enter in and view it. He answered: "To none save those who are in the third heaven, because to them every representative of love and wisdom becomes real. It is from them that I heard what I have reported to you, and also this, that in the highest region love truly conjugial dwells, in the chamber or room of the will, in the midst of mutual love, and in the chamber or room of the understanding, in the midst of the perceptions of wisdom; and that, in the bedchamber which is at the front and in the east, they are consociated in bed." To my question, "Why are there two chambers?" he said,"The husband is in the chamber of the understanding and the wife in the chamber of the will."

[6] I then asked, "Since conjugial love dwells there, where then does conjugial cold dwell?" He answered: "This also dwells in the highest region, but only in the chamber of the understanding, the chamber of the will there being closed; for the understanding with its truths can ascend by a spiral stairway into its chamber in the highest region whenever it wills; but if the will with the good of its love does not at the same time ascend into the neighbouring chamber, the latter is shut and in the other chamber it becomes cold; and this cold is conjugial cold. When there is such cold towards the wife, then from this highest region the understanding looks down to the lowest, and if fear does not restrain it, it also descends thither that it may there grow warm from an illicit fire."

After saying this, he wished to recount still further particulars concerning conjugial love on the basis of its effigies in that palace, but he said: "Enough for the present. Inquire first whether these things are above the common understanding. If they are, why more? but if not, more will be disclosed."